Apparatus for cleaning or polishing of teeth

ABSTRACT

A dental apparatus for home care of teeth is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a wedge-like and pointed tool adapted for insertion into teeth interstices for cleaning the approximate teeth faces, and a handle whereby the tool can be easily operated. A stem of the tool is held with friction grip by a socket inserted transversely through the end of the handle and completely free to turn about its axis so that the tool by itself adjusts its angular position to the teeth faces being cleaned.

United States Patent Axelsson 1 1 *May 9, 1972 s41 APPARATUS FORCLEANING 0R 1,039,235 9/1912 Wiggins ..32/ss POLISHING 0F TEETH I2,016,597 10/1935 Drake "12/51; x [72] Inventor: zztl' lsttd'lwtszlsson, Drottnlnggatan 27, prim? Examiner-Robe" "shockAttorney-Cushman', Darby & Cushman Notice: The portion of the term ofthis patent sub- I sequent 10 Jan. 5, 1988, has bl1 diS- 57 ABSTRACTclaimed. d f t A ental apparatus or home care of teeth is disclosed. Theap- [22] Med: 1970 paratus comprises a wedge-like and pointed tooladapted for [21] Appl. No.: 31,564 insertion into teeth interstices forcleaning the approximate teeth faces, and a handle whereby the tool canbe easily [52] U CI "32/58 operated. A stem of the tool is held withfriction grip by a l 5]] l I "A6" 3/06 socket inserted transverselythrough the end of the handle and [58] Field of Search ..32/50, 40, $3somplstely Tm to turn about its axis 59 that the tool y itself adjustsits angular position to the teeth faces being cleaned. [56] ReferencesCited 9 cum, 10 M UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,552,022 1/1971 Axelsson..32/58 EAT'ENTEDMM 9 1972 INVENTOR PER 0.7. film/.3904

ATTORNEYS APPARATUS FOR CLEANING OR POLISHING OF TEETH This inventionrelates to an apparatus for cleaning or polishing teeth.

With usual teeth brushes it is impossible to clean satisfactorily thetooth faces adjacent to the teeth interstices and to remove coatings ofbacteria therefrom, and this is a basic requirement for the preventionof gum inflammation and loosening of teeth (paradontopati). Also, ifsaid coatings are not removed regularly, tartar is also formed and thiscan only be removed by a dentist. Therefore, it is desirable thatbrushing of the teeth be completed with a daily cleaning of the teethinterstices.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus suitablefor home use, whereby such cleaning can be efficiently performed.

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus forcleaning or polishing adjacent faces of the teeth of a patient,comprising a pointed tool dimensioned for insertion into and throughteeth interstices and having opposite rough or abrading faces, said toolbeing held in a socket at an end part of a handle so that the axis ofthe tool is transverse to the length of the handle, and said tool beingfree to turn about its own axis whereby, during insertion into andworking in the teeth interstices, the tool can turn relatively to thehandle to adopt an angular position which is correct for the action ofthe tool faces against the teeth faces.

Preferably, said tool faces are set at an acute angle to one another.

Preferably also, said tool is frictionally held in a rotary socketmember carried by saidhandle.

The present invention also provides a pointed tool as defined above.

As a result of the invention the teeth interstices can easily be reachedfrom the outer (cheek) side as well as from the inner (tongue) side, anda cleaning effect much better than by the use of a tooth pick can beobtained.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example,with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are side views from two different angles of an apparatusfor cleaning or polishing teeth;

FIG. 3 is a crosssectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a head formingpart of the apparatus;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views, from two sides at right angles to one another,showing a pointed tool, on the same enlarged scale;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the tool from opposite ends;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section on the line VIlIVllI of FIG. 5, on an evenlarger scale;

FIG. 9 shows a detail of the working face of the tool;

FIG. 10 is a cross-section through a modified form of tool.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus, which is shown full size inFIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a longish flattened handle 11 similar to thehandle of a conventional tooth brush. At its front end, the handle isformed with an integral head or boss 13 which projects transversely tothe length of the handle on one side thereof. Said boss has a throughcylindrical hole 15 extending at approximately right angles to theadjacent portion of the handle, and one end of said hole is enlarged at17. Inserted into said cylindrical hole, with suitable play, is a socketmember 19 in the shape of a tubular metal sleeve. The ends of the sleeveare widened, for example by peening over, so as to form collars orannular flanges'2l and 23 which abut against the body of the handle fromopposite sides so as to retain sleeve against withdrawal. Due to itsmanner of attachment, the socket member is free to turn on its own axis.The flange 21 is recessed in the enlarged part 17 of the hole 15 so thatit cannot contact the user's teeth and, during use of the apparatus, theflange 23 at the other end is covered by tool 25 which is inserted inthe socket member.

The tool, which is shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 on the scale 5:1, consists of ashank portion 27 and a working portion 29. The shank portion 27 isgenerally cylindrical and provides for the removable attachment of thehandle. The shank is shaped to fit into the socket member sufficientlytightly to retain the tool during operation, but to allow removal of thetool at will by merely pulling out the tool. In order to promote a goodfrictional grip, the cylindrical face of the shank is formed with anumber of axially extending ridges 31 having heights which increasetowards the working portion of the tool. A shoulder 33 providing a flatannular face eccentric to the shank is arranged to abut the flange 23and determine the correct end position when the tool isbeing insertedinto the handle.

The working portion 29 of the tool is designed for insertion into theteeth interstices and for cleaning or polishing of the adjacent teethfaces during reciprocating movement of the tool in the direction of itsown length. Said teeth faces are convex and the interstices widen in thehorizontal direction, i.e. towards the cheek and the tongue, as well asin the vertical direction towards the gum where the boundary of theinterstice is formed by a convex papillaof the gum. To correspondwithsaid shape of the teeth interstice, the tool according to theinvention is wedge-shaped and pointed very much like the tip of adagger. Two symmetrical working side faces 35 and 37 form an acute angleof about 20 to 40 degrees to each other and these faces are convex andof a rough or abrasive nature, whereas narrow back side 39 is concaveand smooth in order to avoid injury to gum papilla. The tool taperstowards its point 41, and its triangular cross-sections are similar overthe main part of its length and decrease evenly in size; edges 43, 45and 47 are straight. However, at the outermost end portion the back side39 curves inwardly towards the sharp edge 43, so that the. tip of thetool is blunted. Due thereto the insertion of the tool into the teethinterstices is facilitated and the risk of damaging the gum papilla isreduced. The shape of the cross-section is clearly shown in FIG. 8, on ascale of 30:l. The desired roughness of the side faces 35 and 37 can beobtained by fonning therein a large number of closely arranged, smallridges 49 of triangular cross-section which enclose small depressedareas of the tool face, whereby polishing paste or the like can beretained. Preferably and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, the ridges areannular in shape and may be of a diameter of about,0.014 inch and aheight of about 0.004 inch. The peaks of the ridges will have anabrading effect of their own, particularly when the material of the toolis chosen for this purpose. Usually, the tools will be made fromthermoplastic material of such a kind that the tools can be moulded tothe desired shape in a single operation. The material should beresilient so that the tool can be slightly bent but it should have asufficient stifiness to ensure that the tool can be pushed into a narrowteeth interstice without collapsing.

In order to be able to polish teeth with differently shaped intersticesit is desirable to have a set of tools of different sizes and shapes.The fit between the socket l9 and the tool stem 27 enables easy exchangeof tools.

The form of tool shown in FIG. 10 is a modification of the form shown inFIGS. 4 to 8, in that the inoperative back side of the tool is hollowedout so as to form a deep furrow or cleft 61 that extends from the backside at least half-way to the edge 43. Thus, the cross-section of thetool is essentially V- shaped, and on opposite sides of said cleft thereare diverging thin flaps 63 and 65 whose thickness gradually decreasestowards the free edges 45 and 47. Said flaps are-flexible and resilient,so that, when the tool is used, the flaps move towards each other andthe angle formed by their outer faces is diminished more or lessaccording to the shape of the interstice between the teeth beingcleaned. Due to their resiliency, the flaps will also exert a controlledpressure against the teeth faces. Another important advantage of thisconfiguration isthat the tool adapts itself to teeth interstices ofdifferent shapes and sizes, thus forming a universal tool that can beused for all or most of the teeth interstices of the mouth, so that toolchanges may not be required at all or so often as with the fonns of toolpreviously described.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for cleaning adjacent surface portions of teethcomprising a pointed tool dimensioned for insertion between teethinterstices and having generally oppositely facing abrading surfaces, anelongated handle having a substantially cylindrical bore at one endextending through said handle, the longitudinal axis of said bore beinggenerally transverse to the length of said handle, said bore having ahollow tubular socket member disposed therein, said socket member beingrotatable in said bore about its longitudinal axis and said tool havinga shank portion frictionally engaged in said socket member so that, whensaid tool is inserted into and is moved relative to the teethinterstices, said tool will rotate relative to said handle to bring saidabrading surfaces into contact with adjacent teeth surfaces.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said tool faces are setat an acute angle to one another.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said socket member issleeve-shaped and accommodated with slight play in said cylindrical boreextending through an eccentric head integral with the end portion of thehandle, the ends of the socket member being formed with annular flangeswhich abut against opposite faces of the head to prevent withdrawal ofthe socket member.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shank portion isgenerally cylindrical and provided on its exterior surface with axialridges which gradually increase in height toward said abrading surfacesof said tool.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the tool is substantiallytriangular in crosssection, two similar rough working faces being set atan angle of 30 to 40 to one another and the third face forming a smoothback of the tool, the cross-sections of the tool being substantiallysimilar and of sizes decreasing towards the tip of the tool.

6. A dental cleaning tool comprising a substantially cylindrical stemportion and a wedge-like and pointed operating end portion integral withsaid stem portion and having a narrow back face and two broad sidefaces, the latter meeting along a sharp substantially straight edgeextending from the point of said end portion to said stem portion, saidside faces being rough and said back face being smooth, and said backface being curved towards said sharp edge whereby the point of the toolis blunted.

7. A dental cleaning tool comprising a substantially cylindrical stemportion and a wedge-like and pointed operating end portion integral withsaid stem portion and having a narrow base face and two side facesbroader relative to said base faces, said side faces meeting at an angleof 20 to 40 along a sharp edge extending from the point of said endportion to said stern portion, said base being concave and smooth andsaid side faces being provided with a plurality of ridges ofsubstantially triangular cross-section forming walls completelysurrounding depressed areas in said side faces.

8. A dental tool as claimed in claim 7, wherein said ridges are annularso as to enclose circular depressed areas.

9. A dental cleaning tool comprising an elongated stem portion and awedge-like pointed working portion integral with said stem portion andhaving two similar rough working faces set at an angle of 20 to 40 toone another and forming a sharp edge extending from the point of saidworking portion to said stem portion and a back face forming a deepfurrow between said rough working faces and extending from their remoteparts at least half-way to said sharp edge and along the major part ofthe length of said working portion, the diverging portions of saidworking faces located opposite said furrow being resiliently deformablein order to adapt themselves to varying shapes of teeth interstices.

i i i K i

1. An apparatus for cleaning adjacent surface portions of teethcomprising a pointed tool dimensioned for insertion between teethinterstices and having generally oppositely facing abrading surfaces, anelongated handle having a substantially cylindrical bore at one endextending through said handle, the longitudinal axis of said bore beinggenerally transverse to the length of said handle, said bore having ahollow tubular socket member disposed therein, said socket member beingrotatable in said bore about its longitudinal axis and said tool havinga shank portion frictionally engaged in said socket member so that, whensaid tool is inserted into and is moved relative to the teethinterstices, said tool will rotate relative to said handle to bring saidabrading surfaces into contact with adjacent teeth surfaces.
 2. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said tool faces are set at anacute angle to one another.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, inwhich said socket member is sleeve-shaped and accommodated with slightplay in said cylindrical bore extending through an eccentric headintegral with the end portion of the handle, the ends of the socketmember being formed with annular flanges which abut against oppositefaces of the head to prevent withdrawal of the socket member.
 4. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shank portion is generallycylindrical and provided on its exterior surface with axial ridges whichgradually increase in height toward said abrading surfaces of said tool.5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the tool is substantiallytriangular in crosssection, two similar rough working faces being set atan angle of 30* to 40* to one another and the third face forming asmooth back of the tool, the cross-sections of the tool beingsubstantially similar and of sizes decreasing towards the tip of thetool.
 6. A dental cleaning tool comprising a substantially cylindricalstem portion and a wedge-like and pointed operating end portion integralwith said stem portion and having a narrow back face and two broad sidefaces, the latter meeting along a sharp substantially straight edgeextending from the point of said end portion to said stem portion, saidside faces being rough and said back face being smooth, and said backface being curved towards said sharp edge whereby the point of the toolis blunted.
 7. A dental cleaning tool comprising a substantiallycylindrical stem portion and a wedge-like and pointed operating endportion integral with said stem portion and having a narrow base faceand two side faces broader relative to said base faces, said side facesmeeting at an angle of 20* to 40* along a sharp edge extending from thepoint of said end portion to said stem portion, said base being concaveand smooth and said side faces being provided with a plurality of ridgesof substantially triangular cross-section forming walls completelysurrounding depressed areas in said side faces.
 8. A dental tool asclaimed in claim 7, wherein said ridges are annular so as to enclosecircular depressed areas.
 9. A dental cleaning tool comprising anelongated stem portion and a wedge-like pointed working portion integralwith said stem portion and having two similar rough working faces set atan angle of 20* to 40* to one another and forming a sharp edge extendingfrom the point of said working portion to said stem portion and a backface forming a deep furrow between said rough working faces andextending from their remote parts at least half-way to said sharp edgeand along the major part of the length of said working portion, thediverging portions of said working faces located opposite said furrowbeing resiliently deformable in order to adapt themselves to varyingshapes of teeth interstices.